The Marywood Players will present David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy “Wonder of the World” at the Sette LaVerghetta Center for Performing Arts this weekend.

“Wonder of the World” is centered around Cass Harris, a recently divorced woman who is free to explore the wonders of life now that she doesn’t have a husband to hold her back. As she crosses things off her bucket list, she encounters a slew of wacky characters and situations, making for an evening full of laughs.

The Marywood Players’ previous shows had comedic aspects to them, but were not true comedies. This performance of “Wonder of the World” will end that trend, as this will be the first comedy director Charles Gordon has taken the reigns of since he has come to Marywood.

Gordon said that despite the goofy nature of the subject matter, the message of the show is relevant in today’s society more than ever.

“I’ve forgotten how timely [the show] can be, particularly in terms of our generation being so incredibly self-obsessed that we don’t tend to notice the harm we’re doing to people around us,” said Gordon.

Gordon also said that part of the decision to put on the show was so students could gain experience of a different kind of acting.

“Our students [were] not getting the kind of exposure to playing fast-paced comedy that I think they need to have in their repertoire, so that was part of what drove [the decision],” said Gordon.

Senior Theater Major Sarah Wagner, who will bring the lead role of Cass Harris to life, has embraced the responsibility of leading the cast. Wagner said the process of getting the show to look tight despite a short amount of time to prepare is challenging.

“It puts the pressure on. We have to work really hard to make sure our show is clean and precise and that everybody is on top of their game,” said Wagner. “You can’t get tired because it is a comedy and the energy needs to be so high, so it is definitely a rush, but it is fun.”

Wagner said that this production is going to be different than others thanks to a lot of the work being done behind the scenes.

“Usually we have faculty members or we pay people to come in and do a lot of the design process for our shows, but this whole show is built by the students and I just think that’s the coolest thing ever,” said Wagner. “Everything that [audiences] will see when they come see the show is going to be the hard work of the students and I think that’s something that Marywood as a community can really appreciate.”

Gordon said one of the best things about the show is that the cast is full of responsible individuals who care about putting on a great performance.

“What’s great is [the cast] is all people who are committed to doing the best show they can do and they’re working their tails off, so I can’t really ask for anything better,” said Gordon.

There are two chances to see the Marywood Players’ performance of “Wonder of the World” on Friday, Oct. 5 and Saturday, Oct. 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are available online through Marywood’s website and will also be available at the box office on both nights of the show. Admission to the show is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $6 for students and free for anyone with a Marywood ID.

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Twitter: @JKucharskiTWW